The Huntress's Nightmare
by erttheking
Summary: Team RWBY is attacked in the middle of the night on their way to bring the Relic of Knowledge to Atlas. During the attack, the remnant of Cinder's forces push them to a latern. And they all find themselves in a land of unimaginable horrors. Patreon sponsored one-shot


From even the greatest of horrors, irony is seldom absent.

H.P. Lovecraft

Ruby couldn't remember how it had happened. A nighttime ambush while they were separated from Qrow and the remnants of Team JNPR. She had taken Weiss, Blake, and Yang out to scavenge for firewood, water, and whatever berries they could find in the forest. It had only been three of them, Cinder hadn't been there. It looked like they were lucky and she was truly gone. But Mercury, Emerald, and Hazel were rested and recovered from their last fight. And the newly reunited Team RWBY made up half the strength they had at Haven Academy.

But something had happened. The fight had turned brutal and pushed them deeper into the snowy woods. There had been an unattended lantern there, glowing with a pale, purple light. Team RWBY had been fighting a desperate retreat when they had been pushed into the clearing where the lantern was. The next thing they knew, they were all falling.

The landing had been hard, but nothing they hadn't handled before. The snowy fields and forests had been replaced with hard, rocky ground and dilapidated buildings. Groaning, she pulled herself to her feet. Mercifully, the rest of her team was all around here, no worse for wear. At least no worse than they had been before they had fallen, which meant that they looked battered and exhausted, but not seriously hurt.

"Where are we?" Blake asked, clutching the ruined remains of Gambol Shroud, only good for ranged attacks now. "Oh. Oh my-what?" She was staring up at the sky. Ruby followed her gaze. Her jaw dropped. The sun was wrong. Ruby didn't know how to describe it, but everything about it felt wrong. It was huge, far larger than she had ever seen it, but its light felt faint and weak. And it was full of holes. Her brain felt like it was aching just looking at it and trying to understand it. Those big gaps of nothing that were just right there in the middle of the sun, nothing coming out of it. How did that work? What had happened in that forest?

"These buildings look ancient," Weiss said, hesitantly approaching one that they had landed near. She gave it a hesitant poke with Myrtenaster and was rewarded with a few loose pieces of stone crumbling away. Nothing about this place felt right. The buildings around them were massive, stone works that stretched up to the sky. None of them looked secure though, in fact, many appeared to be lopsided. The ground they were on was jagged and uneven, hardly ideal areas for building rather primitive looking buildings that didn't appear to have foundations built into the ground. And this city, or whatever it was, stretched for miles with no end in sight.

"Where are they? Mercury, Emerald, Hazel?" Yang asked, spinning around with Ember Celica at the ready. "Whatever this place is, they were right next to us. Maybe they're the ones who did this?"

"I don't think so," Ruby said slowly. "We could've run in any direction, they would've had no way to force us towards that lantern."

"But where are they then?" Weiss asked. "And if this isn't them, who did this? No Semblance could do something like this, it-"

"Help...us…" a weak, raspy voice said. The four members of Team RWBY spun on the spot, weapons at the ready. What Ruby saw shook her, though not in the way she had expected. Something was crawling out of the entrances of a nearby building, coated with dust and bits of rock. It was human-shaped, but it couldn't be human. It was too small, it was pale white, it was a shriveled, tiny husk of a think. It reached out towards them, a gnarled, wispy hand uncurling as its wrinkled, emaciated face twisted in pain. "She cannot stop him. She cannot stop Ludwig. Help us. He comes."

"Who are you? Where is this place?" Ruby asked, taking aim with Crescent Rose in its gun form. "Who's Lugwig?" Before the sad-looking creature could answer, the ground around them shook. From within a deep roar echoed outward. A roar that sounded nothing like anything Ruby had heard a person, animal, or even Grimm make. Deep, primal, and above all angry. It radiated with more power than she had ever heard in a single sound. Such a thing didn't seem possible, but the evidence was pounding against her eardrum.

At once, she turned Crescent Rose on the doorway, the rest of her team copying her moves. "He is coming," the creature said, despair flooding into his voice as fat tears began to leak out of his eyes. "She could not defeat him. Please. Stop him." Ruby had a thousand questions to ask, but she had time for none of them. Another roar, one that was so loud that she had to close her eyes for a second in pain, echoed. At the same time, there was a deafening crash as something smashed through the wall above the doorway. Stone blocks tumbled loose as a figure in black was sent flying backward through the wall, landing on the ground and tumbling before coming to a stop.

For a single, horrible second, Ruby assumed the person must be dead. But to her surprise, the figure gasped in pain and forced themselves to their feet. Grabbing at their belt, they took a vial filled with a dark, red substance and jammed it into their leg, giving a small sigh of relief as they did. It was short-lived as the figure pulled themselves to their feet.

Ruby felt certain in saying it was a woman under all the clothing. A long black coat with a waistcoat of the same color underneath. She wore a tricorne hat and had her face from the nose down covered by a cloth. The only part of her skin that was visible was the dark-colored skin around her eyes. Her eyes themselves were a piercing shade of blue, to the point where Ruby found it unnerving and even a little unnatural. In her right hand was a thin sword, in her left, an equally thin pistol. On her back was an incredibly large sheath, decorated with ornate silver engravings, one far too big for the sword that she was carrying.

Her uncanny blue eyes had been focusing on the hole she had been thrown out of, but the woman's attention was diverted as she noticed Team RWBY. "How did you get-" she began but was drowned out by another roar. There was a crash an even bigger hole was torn open in the wall. What Ruby saw made her jaw drop.

A thing, at least twenty feet tall, clambered out of the newly made hole. Its head was elongated and deformed, with a jaw that was far too wide and with eyes that looked as if they had been placed at random. A second head was poking out of its far too long neck, except it barely qualified as a head. It was simply a jaw, nothing but teeth and a slobbering tongue, biting viciously at nothing. Tattered rags and a strapped on bundle of something covered the monster's body, which was twice as long as it was tall. Its upper torso had a pair of long, thin, clawed arms, while its lower half was a tangled mess of more legs than Ruby could count. They looked disturbingly like horse legs, while the first head vaguely resembled a stretched and distorted horse's head.

"RUN!" the woman bellowed. "I'll handle Ludwig!" Without another word she charged forward, dodging to the side at the last second as the first head slammed into the ground in an attempt to crush her. She ducked underneath the monster, Ludwig, and began slashing so fast that her sword became a blur of silver. Within seconds, her black outfit had been stained with bright crimson blood that was pouring out of the wounds she was making. Ludwig bellowed in rage, its mess of many legs tensing before it jumped.

Ruby would never have thought that something that large could jump any meaningful distance. Its legs weren't large enough and the rest of its body was too big. But when it jumped, it soared up so high that it passed the rooftop of the ruin they were next to. The woman's eyes widened in horror as the beast began to descend, aiming directly at her. Acting more on instinct than anything else, Ruby leveled Crescent Rose and fired three quick shots. Each of them found their mark in his side. Both of Ludwig's jaws roared in anger as the head with eyes turned to focus on Ruby. It landed, knocked off its path from the now retreating woman, kicking up a cloud of dust in the process.

Ruby almost froze as Ludwig's eyes locked onto her. There was a mad, frenzied hatred in the monster's eyes. None of this made sense. Ludwig, whatever it was, wasn't a Grimm. It was flesh and bone, yet somehow it was looking at her with burning contempt that surpassed even the oldest Goliath. But what made it even worse was the wounds Crescent Rose had left on it. They were bleeding, but nowhere near as much as anything should be after being shot with a .50 caliber round, let alone three. Indeed, the damage looked distressingly superficial, as if it only hurt Ludwig more than anything else.

Ludwig's roar echoed in her ears as its second jaw opened wide. A blindly white stream of fluid spewed out. Not wanting to find out what it was the hard way, Ruby let her Semblance take over as she sped out of the way. Rocketing to well behind Ludwig, Ruby slid to a stop. The white liquid had splashed all over the ground where she had just been and was now eating into the stone ground at an alarming rate. Unless Ruby was mistaken, the second jaw was capable of spitting stomach acid at them. Keeping that thought in mind, Ruby switched Crescent Rose into its scythe form. Her bullets weren't working on this beast, but she had seen first hand that a simple sword was capable of drawing blood, a scythe should work too.

The rest of Team RWBY was already engaging Ludwig. Blake, with no other option, was keeping her distance and keeping up a steady stream of fire. Gambol Shroud was of a much lighter caliber than Crescent Rose and she was having even less luck than Ruby was. Every bullet acted as if it had been deprived of all-penetrating force, being lodged in the outer layer of Ludwig's skin. Blake was doing her best to adjust for this by focusing on the first head and attempting to take out one of the eyes.

This was proving to be difficult as Weiss and Yang were both moving into melee range. Ludwig was responding by smashing its head into the ground and viciously swinging it. Ruby's heart skipped a beat as Yang drove her fist into one of Ludwig's legs, earning a splatter of blood and a crunch, and the beast responded violently. Its head pounded and tore through the ground, ripping up stone as it went, before striking into Yang head-on.

Her elder sister was sent flying back, Ludwig moving to follow up before Weiss drove Myrtenaster into the ground. A wall of ice erupted out of the ground, arcing forward and taking its path directly under Ludwig. It let out a cry of surprise as it was hoisted over the edge of the wall, toppling over with no grace and landing upside down. As this was happening, Yang flipped over in an attempt to right herself, her feet dragging along the ground, but she was still leaning too far forward as she skid backward. Blake threw Gambol Shroud's cable and managed to loop it around the blonde's waist, pulling taught and managing to balance Yang out long enough for her to fire a blast from her gauntlets backward, bringing her to a stop.

"We gotta get in close, keep chipping away at it!" Ruby called out. "Hit it from behind and don't get near the mouths!" She dove in, letting her Semblance carry her forward, and slashed at the still prone Ludwig. Her stomach clenched as bright red blood splattered the ground around her as she carved into the monster's torso. For a moment, she hesitated. How was it possible? A monster like this existing outside of the Grimm?

"I said run!" The woman in black was beside her, her sword diving into Ludwig's torso. "Your bullets don't work the way mine do!" The sword continued to hack at the creature as the woman aimed and fired the pistol. At this range, Ruby could see that the pistol looked rather antiquated, a single-shot pistol that might have been commonly used a couple of hundred years ago. But despite this and the smaller size of the weapon, the shot fully penetrated the torso and exited out the other side.

Ludwig howled in pain and anger and its legs flailed about, pushing the rest of the body upright at a frightening pace. In mere seconds it was up again, bringing itself about and slashing its claw at both Ruby and the woman in black. Neither of them were able to react fast enough and were thrown back. Ruby hissed in pain as the claws clashed against her Aura, landing firmly with her weapon at the ready. However, her eyes widened in horror as the woman in black roared in pain. Ludwig's claws faced no resistance as they tore into her chest body, blood spluttering out of the wounds and the woman staggered back, breathing heavily. Ruby gaped. Wasn't this woman a Huntress, like all of them?

The woman holstered her pistol and slid her sword into the sheath on her back. There was a loud clang of something being locked into place and she drew the sword again. Except it stayed locked on the sheath. At that moment, Ruby realized that the sheath on the woman's back wasn't a sheath, it was an attachment. It was now the blade of the sword, transforming the weapon from a longsword into a massive greatsword that the woman now held with both hands.

"Are you listening to me!?" the woman snapped, glaring at Ruby. "Go!" She must have lost her mind. She had no Aura protecting her, the beast had already drawn blood on her, and she wanted to take the thing one on one? With those wounds? But even as Ruby took another look at the wounds, something surprised her. The gashes in her torso were slowly closing, the flesh knitting itself and staunching the bleeding. Aura didn't do that. Did this woman have a healing Semblance and her Aura had merely been depleted fighting this monster?

The woman charged forward, her sword leaning against her shoulder. Ludwig lunged, smashing his head into the ground and following it up with a slash from his claw. The woman's charge stopped with surprising speed, bringing her just short of the first blow, a quick step back bringing her out of range of the second one. No sooner had the second blow's arc cleared her than she charged in, within Ludwig's grasp, slashing into its neck with her blade.

Ludwig howled and opened its second jaw once more, spewing white, hot stomach acid. The woman had already darted away, deftly hopping back and disengaging from Ludwig. Enraged at its prey escaping, Ludwig lunged forward, a nonstop flurry of blows from its head and claws forming a random, near impossible to follow pattern. The woman ducked and weaved, managing to stay ahead of the assault, but Ruby could see her struggling to keep up with the relentless assault.

Moving to the side so that she was given a straight line of sight down Ludwig's back, Ruby sped forward with Crescent Rose's blade pointing downward. Everything around her became a blur of movement and red petals as she closed in on the monster. At the last second, she let her Semblance released and forced her weapon down. The edge buried itself in Ludwig and was dragged through the majority of its body as her momentum carried her forward, clearing the monster entirely. As she sped off, she flipped over in the air and fired off a volley of rounds. Even if they didn't do much damage, they were doing some, and all of them were direct hits.

Both of Ludwig's jaws snapped viciously as it reached up, forgetting the woman in black, and turning his attention onto her. This was a mistake. No longer under assault, the woman capitalized on the opening she had been given. Pulling her sword back, she drove it forward in a powerful thrust. She caught one of Ludwig's knees, smashing it and causing the best to stumble. Even as she was still soaring through the air, Ruby could see the delight in the blue eyes of the woman. One hand let go of the sword and, to Ruby's utter shock, drove itself into the depths of the beast.

The blow had such force that the woman's arm did not stop until it was buried in the monster up to her elbow. Then, with a mighty tug, she ripped it out. Ruby barely managed a safe landing as she saw an unidentifiable pool of blood and innards pile around the beast as it let out a horrific, almost pathetic, roar. It fell over, quite still. The woman in black panted as she yanked her sword out of Ludwig, stepping back and taking a moment to catch her breath.

At that moment, something very odd happened. Ruby felt like a damp cloth had been pressed over her mind; everything felt oddly muted for a few seconds. But one thing didn't, something that she could hear much more clearly now that everything else was softened. There was a strange whispering noise, one that Ruby couldn't quite pin the origin off. She could almost make out what they, whoever they were, were saying, she felt that if they just spoke up a little bit it would become obvious what they were saying. It was a frustrating experience. Ruby looked around, trying to pinpoint the origin, but saw nothing. Then, just as soon as it had started, the whispering stopped and the rest of her senses returned to normal.

The woman at this point had caught her breath and was now standing up straight. She turned to face Ruby. "Very well...it appears you can fight better than I gave you credit for," the woman said, heaving heavily. "The number of times I tried to...nevermind. Who are you and what are you doing here?" There was a loud bang as the ice wall imploded from the far side and collapsed. Yang was on the far side, loading fresh shells into her gauntlets, along with Weiss and Blake. All of them had their weapons at the ready, but they were lowered when they saw the prone body of the beast. "This is a dangerous place, how did you all come to be here?"

"Uh, you're welcome," Yang said dryly, approaching with Weiss and Blake. "A little introduction would be nice."

The woman gave Yang a stern look. "Atla," she said. "Hunter of the Dream."

"Are you a Huntress?" Ruby asked.

Atla gave her an odd look. "Huntress? No. I'm a Hunter." Ruby wasn't sure she understood the distinction aside from the fact that the term was more gender-neutral. "This isn't important, do the four of you even understand where you are?"

"Look, my sister just pulled your rear out of the fire with that-" Yang started, but Ruby cut her off.

"Uh, sorry but we really don't. We were out looking for food when we got attacked by some-" she hesitated for a moment. How was she supposed to introduce Salem's followers while also keeping the nature of Salem herself a secret? "Some people who have been hounding us," she decided on. "We ran into a lantern in the fight and we just kinda, well, ended up here." She looked around. "Where are we? What was that Ludwig thing?"

"Oh," Atla said. Her body visibly slackened, Ruby hadn't even noticed how tense she still was. "Then you didn't come here by choice. That makes sense." She slid her sword back onto her back and pulled the cloth around her face down. She gave a smile, but it looked awkward and unpracticed. If anything, a stern frown would've been more welcoming. "Listen, that thing back there had been blocking my way for some time. You did help me with it." Atla gave a glance at Yang. "Thank you for that."

Yang, who had been looking at Atla with disapproval ever since the fight had ended, gave a small smile. "Was that so hard?" she asked coyly. "Sweet moves by the way. Even if, well, things got a bit messy." Yang's smile flickered as she took a glance at the pile of guts that had pooled around Ludwig's body. Weiss and Blake were doing their best not to look in that general direction. Even Ruby's stomach was feeling rather queasy about it. She had never really appreciated how clean, literally clean, fighting Grimm was until now.

Atla's jaw noticeably clenched as she shook her head, turning back to Ruby. "I can't promise that I can get you back to where you came from, but I can at the very least take you someplace safe."

Weiss took a step forward, giving a small bow as she did. "That is deeply appreciated, Ms. Atla. My apologies, we haven't introduced ourselves. I am Weiss Schnee. My companions are Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna, and our leader Ruby Rose," she said, pointing to each of her companions as she named them. Atla blinked in surprise as Ruby was identified as their leader, something Ruby was no stranger to, but she did not comment.

"A place to catch our breath would be nice," Blake said, taking a sad look at the ruins of her sword. "It's not far is it?"

Atla noticed Blake's broken weapon. "Not far at all, but just in case, take this." Reaching down to her side, Atla drew a knife and handed it out to Blake. Blake approached and took it, turning it over in her hands. Ruby couldn't help but feel that it looked odd, more like a pair of misshapen scissors than a knife with two blades and one being noticeably larger than the other. The truly odd part was that the smaller blade was tucked underneath the larger, rendering it useless in a fight. Blake looked confused as she held the weapon up, giving it a few experimental swings.

"Two knives. They come apart," Atla said. Blake started at the weapon, understanding dawning on her face. Putting away Gambol Shroud, she took the knife at the hilt in both hands and pulled. With a clang, the knife separated into two blades, just as Atla had said. Blake gave each an experimental swing, looking much more comfortable now that she understood how the weapon worked.

"The Blades of Mercy, they belonged to a friend of mine," Atla said. A sad look flashed across her face, but it was gone as soon as it came. "I'll be needing it back when this is all done."

"Of course, thank you," Blade said, reattaching the Blades of Mercy.

"Very well, follow me," she said, gesturing. "The path back should still be clear, but stick close to me. I-" she broke off. Her hand went back to her sword, drawing the smaller one and her pistol at the same time. She turned to face Ludwig's body, taking up a defensive stance. The bundle had slipped off of the creature's back, sliding to the ground in front of it. A truly massive sword that was glowing with its own inner light, an otherworldly green, shone in front of Ludwig. To Ruby's horror, Ludwig's head raised up to look at the sword. Ludwig then did something that shocked Ruby to her core; it was nothing she would have dreamed he was capable of.

He spoke. Not with a deep, guttural voice, but a soft and smooth one.

"Ah. You were at my side, all along. My true mentor. My guiding moonlight." Ludwig stood up. Something was different. The relentless anger was gone, replaced with a dignified calmness. Instead of hunching forward on all limbs, Ludwig rose up, letting his legs carry the fullness of his weight. His hands were clasped around the gargantuan sword, holding it in front of him in a defensive stance. The eyes of the first head were no longer wide with anger, quite the opposite. They were calm, relaxed, even pleased looking. It wasn't the look of a frenzied animal, but of an old man in a place of comfort. Said eyes darted back and forth between the five of them, Ludwig making minor adjustments to his stance as they did.

Ruby gave Atla a nervous glance, but the Hunter seemed just as taken aback as she was. Ruby tried to ask something, anything, but Ludwig had already acted. With unnerving swiftness he swung his sword twice, each time sending a glowing green blade of energy. One was sent at Ruby and Atla, the other at Team RWBY. They all scattered, the blades of energy dissipating as they impacted on the ground, leaving deep burn marks where they had left. Team RWBY all fell back, utilizing their weapons, or Glyphs in Weiss's case, to get some added distance. Atla, however, charged forward.

Ducking underneath the energy, Atla gripped at something around her belt. It was something that looked rather like a worn, yellowed bone. Whatever it was, it glowed as Atla gripped it. As she neared Ludwig, his eyes shifted down and he gave a quick, shallow strike with the sword. For a horrifying second, Ruby was certain it was going to connect. But in what could only be described as a ripple in the air, Atla vanished just before the sword carved into the ground. Ludwig blinked in confusion, only for Atla to reappear a few feet behind the sword, driving her own into Ludwig's chest.

There was a sharp, but short, cry of pain and Ludwig jumped back, his multiple pairs of feet pushing him back a good distance. As he retreated, he gave a wide, sweeping blow that looked as if it would tear Atla in half if it connected. Once again the Hunter disappeared, reappearing just outside of the sword's reach, a few feet back. Ruby's heart was hammering in her chest now. She had no idea what Ludwig was or what had changed, but he wasn't fighting like a deranged beast anymore. He was fighting like a sapient being, smart enough to know when to retreat or play defensively, wielding his sword as if he had practiced with it for years.

"Ruby, give me some cover!" Ruby's head jerked to the side. Weiss had driven her sword into the ground and a massive Glyph was surrounding her. Ruby recognized Weiss's summon and so did everything else. Yang positioned herself directly in front of the heiress and began punching hard, sending shots from Ember Celica directly into Ludwig's face. He shifted his sword so that the center was secure, but with such a large target the majority of Yang's blasts found their mark. The flesh on the edge of Ludwig's first face turned red around the edges from the hits, but once again the damage seemed to be superficial.

"Blake! Ladybug?!" Ruby shouted. Blake gripped the Blades of Mercy in one hand and drew the remnant of Gambol Shroud in the other, nodding. Ruby had a good idea she knew what was coming. "I'll go low!" she shouted. Yet again, her Semblance took over and she sped forward. Keeping as small a frame as possible, she barreled forward, looking to get underneath Ludwig and cut at this belly, speeding past Atla in the process. Even though the blur of red and petals, she could see Ludwig's eyes swivel onto her. Her stomach dropped.

He sent another wave of energy at her, forcing her to veer to the left. Far too late, Ruby realized that had been exactly what he wanted. Raising his sword over his head, he drove it down as she neared him on the new trajectory he had set her on. With a horrible lurch and a spike of pain in the small of her back, she was smashed face-first into the ground, the blow so powerful that the stone beneath her buckled. She felt the point of the greatsword pressing into her back, her Aura straining to keep it at bay. The breath had been knocked out of her from her and she couldn't move.

"Ruby!" Instinctively, Ruby looked up. Blake had used Gambol Shroud's still functioning grapple to wrap the far end of the weapon around the roof of the building behind them. Swinging upward with one hand, she swung the Blades of Mercy at Ludwig's face. Ever since the fight had begun, Blake had been targeting his eyes with her rounds. This time, she was able to claim one with her borrowed blade. The united dual knives split the sword-wielding monster's left eye straight down the middle.

With a grunt of pain, Ludwig staggered back as he clutched at his ruined eye. His sword lifted from Ruby and she let out a gasp. She forced herself to her knees to see Blake swinging back for another pass. Blake had evidently thought that, with one eye torn apart, she would have a window to deal more damage. But Ludwig, once again, proved himself to be a terrifyingly adaptable fighter. His hand flew from his eye and back onto his sword, cutting upward with it. Blake's eyes widened and she attempted to veer out of the blade's path. Ludwig was too fast, however. His sword caught her directly in the stomach with such force that Gambol Shroud was ripped off of the roof, sending Blake flying into a nearby wall. Her mouth was forced open in a silent gasp as she fell to the ground, limp.

Ruby, still unable to draw a breath, forced herself to her knees. She had barely done so when someone tugged hard on the back of her cape. Atla half pulled, have dragged her back, firing a shot from her pistol as she did. Ruby couldn't see if it hit, but Ludwig responded by shifting his blade for a thrust. There was the blast of a shotgun and a ball of bright, burning yellow shot over Ruby's head. Ludwig's stab never came. Yang, her face twisted in blinding rage, rocketed towards him and slammed her cybernetic hand into the temple of his first head.

Ludwig was knocked off balance by the force of the blow, staggering back as his remaining eye rolled in confusion. Her hand taking a firm grip in Ludwig's scalp, her hair burning with a fiery gold, Yang brought her metallic first down again and again. Tiny droplets of blood spurted out with each blow, and before too long each strike was accompanied by noticeable cracks. A noticeable dent began to form where Yang was focusing her furious punches.

Ludwig dug his still functioning legs into the ground and adjusted his sword, the point facing the ground. For a moment, Ruby thought Yang had bested him. There was no way for Ludwig to get at his face with his sword without cutting half of it off. Then she saw what was happening to his sword. The light that it was glowing with intensified, becoming brighter and brighter. With a grunt, he drove it into the ground. An orb of pale, green energy pulsed outward, knocking Yang off of Ludwig's face and to the ground, where she landed roughly. She made to get to her feet, but Ludwig was already on her

His blade trained down on her three times, a rising blow, a striking blow, and a thrust, battering Yang senseless and sending her rolling. Yang was panting heavily, her lilac eyes turned a deep red, but her gold Aura was fluctuating dangerously around her. "Yang!" Ruby called out. Her breath coming back to her, Ruby used her Semblance to throw herself at Ludwig's haunches, slashing at them as she passed by. Ludwig's head jerked back for half a second. It was long enough.

From behind her, Gambol Shroud arced around Yang and wrapped itself around her. She had enough time to look down in confusion before the cable went taught. With an undignified yelp, she was pulled back. Blake, her legs visibly trembling, had gotten to her feet and was frantically pulling her partner to safety. Realizing that Yang was now out of his range, Ludwig brought himself about and swung his greatsword at Ruby. Ruby had been rocketing back for another swipe and just barely managed to bring herself to an abrupt halt as the sword buried itself in the ground again. A few pieces of rock caught her in the face, but she had managed to avoid getting pinned by the sword again.

Just as she was trying to formulate her plan of attack, Atla came into view, landing a flurry of blows on Ludwig's exposed flank. Without an ounce of wasted movement, Ludwig turned and brought his sword up from below. Atla vanished again, appearing a few feet behind her original position. As she appeared, she pressed a finger against her temple. There was a flash of blue and a ball of blue energy shot out, tearing a chunk of flesh out of Ludwig's face. This time, however, she underestimated the lunge forward Ludwig had made combined with the length of his sword.

Time seemed to slow down as the tip of the sword caught her in the pelvis and ripped upward. Between Ludwig's strength and the sheer size of the blade, there was no notable resistance. It passed, without pause, through her stomach, chest, and eventually out through her shoulder. For a second, Atla stood there, a wide, horrified look etched into her face. Then blood began to dribble out of her mouth. She tried to speak, but only a wet gurgle came from her mouth. She fell forward, face down in the dirt. As she did, her body, to Ruby's horror and confusion, began to disappear. It was simply vanishing into thin air with no noticeable cause. Mere moments after she had hit the ground, she was gone. A faint cloud of dust was all that was left.

Ruby gaped in disbelief. How? Why? She had known Atla for mere minutes, but the idea that she was dead and gone was utterly alien to her. It had been so quick. Her life had been snuffed out like a candle. But she was given no time to mourn. Ludwig turned about without hesitation. There was no triumph in his eye at his victory over Atla, only cold calculation. Atla had merely been another nameless foe to him, Ruby could tell. And he was not planning on resting until all of Team RWBY shared her fate.

With short swings, he sent another pair of energy waves in Ruby's direction, both of them glowing brightly as they soared towards her. The fight had taken her close to a wall, so a backward retreat wasn't an option. "White Rose!" With the aid of her Semblance, she ducked and weaved through the waves and moved forward. Blake and Yang had taken a beating and she herself had been on the receiving end of a devastating strike. She had no idea how much longer it would take Ludwig to get through the remainder of their Aura and she had no desire to find out. She had to end this now, and with any luck, that would be possible. Ludwig had taken quite a bit of damage in the fight, his missing second jaw, the dent in his head, the torn eye, the ruined husk of one of his legs, and the myriad of gashes that had been left all over his body. Ruby hoped, she prayed, that he was near his end.

Ludwig's eye never left her as she danced through the energy beams and he brought his sword down with the clear intent of cleaving her in to. Said eye widened in surprise when the sword stopped halfway down with a great clang. A shining, armored figure, twelve feet tall and carrying a sword that rivaled Ludwig's in size, had stepped in front of Ruby and blocked the blow. The two swords sparked against each other, blinding white against pale green. Ludwig's eyes narrowed as he drew back, swinging at Weiss's knight from the side, only to be blocked once again.

Ruby shifted Crescent Rose so that the barrel was facing the ground and fired, launching herself up into the air. Clearing the top of Ludwig's head, she lined up her next shot. She would only get one chance at this, Ludwig would easily be able to tear her apart if she failed. Her breath catching in her, she fired directly behind her. She was sent flying forward towards Ludwig. Specifically, she was propelling herself towards his right arm. The blade of Crescent Rose facing it. The impact slowed her down, but only for the briefest of moments.

Ludwig, who had been composed up until this point, let out a cry of pain. It was surprisingly subdued, given the deep primal noises he had been uttering when they had first met. Truth be told, it was on par with that of a normal human. It was all inconsequential though, the important thing was that his right hand had flopped to the ground, a gentle dribble of blood leaking from it.

The one-hand he still had left was holding tight onto his sword, but he was noticeably struggling to swing it now. Weiss's knight thrust forward, and while Ludwig was able to parry it, his entire body heaved with the effort. The knight's advance was not the only threat Ludwig faced, however. It was merely the most noticeable and the focus of his attention. A path of snowflake Glyphs bloomed, stretching to right underneath Ludwig's jaw. There was a streak of white. Weiss was directly underneath him, Myrtenaster at the ready. She gave a small gesture with her hands and the snowflake Glyph beneath her doubled the speed of its rotations. Ludwig's remaining eye widened in horror, but it was too late.

Weiss was propelled upward with such force that Ruby barely had time to blink before it was all over. One of Weiss's hands was wrapped around Ludwig's thick neck, barely able to reach a handful of flab on his side. The other was still iron tight around her sword, which was buried up to the hilt in Ludwig's throat. For a moment, everything was still. Then Ludwig began to go slack. His hand fell, the massive sword clattering to the ground, and he slowly slid to his knees. Weiss looked at the body below her, partly confused, partly hopeful. As she looked, a loud tear echoed above her.

She looked up at the blood dribbling out of the narrow wound she had made. The trickle was slowly thickening, turning into more of a stream. Tears were beginning to form all around the throat, reaching upward to the far side. With a look of horrific realization, Weiss pulled her sword out and threw herself to the side. No sooner had she done so than Ludwig's throat opened wide, a massive wound appearing that formed a complete tear. The vaguely horse-shaped head flopped to the ground as the rest of the twisted body, finally, fell to the ground. Blood poured openly out of the stump where the head once was, but aside from that, the horrific abomination of flesh was finally still.

Cautiously, Weiss approached the head, Myrtenaster at the ready. Her knight approached from behind, his greatsword resting over his shoulder. Out of the corner of her eye, Ruby could see Yang and Blake staggering towards them, supporting each other. Ruby brought up the rear, all four of them keeping their eyes and weapons trained on the head. "He has to be dead, right?" Blake asked. "Even Grimm can't live through decapitation."

"I'm not taking any chances," Weiss said, drawing her sword back in preparation for a thrust. At that moment, the remaining eyed swiveled in the head and looked at them. Weiss let out an involuntary hiss and moved to lunge forward, but stopped dead in her tracks.

"Tell me, good Hunters, have you seen the thread of light?" Ludwig said. It was disorienting. Ludwig had, mere minutes ago, been doing everything in his power to slaughter them and they had reduced him to a mere head. Yet the tone of voice he had was that of a casual conversation with a dinner guest. Weiss looked back at her teammates in confusion, only to find her perplexed expression mirrored on their own. "Just a hair, a fleeting thing, yet I clung to it, seeped as I was in the stench of blood and beasts." The eye flicked back and forth. Unless Ruby was mistaken, Ludwig looked guilty of all things. "I never wanted to know what it was. Really, I didn't."

"I don't care about this light thing," Yang growled. Striding forward, she grabbed Ludwig by the scalp, pulling him off of the ground. "You just tried to kill all of us. You killed Atla! What did we ever do to you? What did she ever do to you?" Ruby shuddered. She had known Atla for less than ten minutes, yet she couldn't bear to contemplate the woman's death. She had died protecting all of them. She had told them to run while she fought Ludwig.

"Atla?" Ludwig seemed quite confused, as well as oblivious to Yang's anger. He hadn't reacted at all to being forcibly picked up. "That Hunter...she used a sword that imitated mine. She was a Healing Church Hunter." His eye sparkled with a realization. "Please, do tell me. Has she seen the light? Are she and her fellows what I always imagined, the honorable spartans who defend this fair city?"

Yang's jaw was slightly slack now. Ruby understood her confusion. Every time she thought she understood what Ludwig was, he transformed into something utterly different. First he had been a feral monster, then a composed swordsman, and now a senile and confused man. It wasn't even clear if he would stay like this for long, it was all too possible that he could revert back to his animal-like state. But when she contemplated his question, about Atla, there was only really one answer she could give. Was Atla honorable? Was she a defender? "Yes," she said softly.

Ludwig let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you kindly. It is good to know that I did not suffer this denigration for nothing. Now I can rest in peace." Ruby had noticed it before, but Ludwig looked very tired. "Even in this darkest of nights...I see moonlight." With that, the head drooped in Yang's hand. Hesitantly, she gave it a shake. It flopped about loosely. Suddenly looking squeamish, Yang dropped it. There was an unpleasantly wet squash as it hit the ground.

"Ok. I think he's dead," Yang said, looking down at Ludwig's remains with uncertainty. "So now what?" She looked around at them all. There was nothing of note in the immediate area aside from the dilapidated buildings, Ludwig's body, and the glowing sword he had wielded. Oddly, the sword seemed much smaller now. It was still a massive weapon, but no larger than the one Atla had used.

"Atla," Ruby said softly. There was a truly awful feeling in her gut. "Atla said that there was a way back to where we came from. She said that it was 'the path back.' Which way is that?" She looked around. "Maybe back where she fought Ludwig?" The gaping hole that Ludwig had made in the side of the building was still there. A bit of loose masonry crumbled around it.

"Maybe?" Blake said. "It's hard to say." As they talked, Weiss's knight slowly faded away, blown away in the wind like it was nothing more than snowflakes. "There could be more in there. More of whatever Ludwig was. He was in there the whole time, there doesn't look like there's a way he could've gotten out before he made that hole." It was very true. There were a couple of openings into the building, but none that Ludwig could ever fit through.

Ruby nodded. Her head felt heavy and her body was sore. She just wanted all of this to be over with. She wanted to find a soft place where she could just curl up and fall asleep. Anything to take her mind off of Ludwig and what had happened to Atla. "Ok. It may still be that way, but we'll check there last. Let's take five minutes to catch our breath and then we'll fan out just a bit, staying in eye contact. Try and look for another one of those lanterns. It-" she broke off. Loud shouts and the sound of gunfire echoed from the hole that Ludwig had burst from. For a second, Ruby was confused. Then something that she had forgotten in the heat of the moment rose up to the forefront of her mind. She recognized the weapons being fired. They had spent a good portion of the night running from them.

"Emerald and Mercury!" Ruby hissed, ejecting a magazine from Crescent Rose and loading a fresh one. Everyone else tensed as they topped off their weapons.

Weiss flipped Myrtenaster upside down and drove it into the ground. "They wouldn't let me do this," she said. "Well, let's see how well they hold up under pressure when they're the ones who get jumped."

"Is that what we're doing Ruby?" Yang asked, glancing at her sister. She and Blake had broken apart and were at the ready. Blake broke apart the Blades of Mercy into its dual form, holding one knife in each hand. "Ambushing them?"

"Ruby mulled over all the facts in her head. Then she nodded. "We're battered, but it sounds like they're fighting too and we have the element of surprise this time. If we don't take care of them now, they'll see Ludwig and figure out that we did it." A combination of the telltale signs of their weapons and the shell casings they had left around would make it too easy. "They'll be right behind us while we fumble around blindly for an exit we don't know about. We'll have to fight them either way. It's better to do it on more favorable terms."

Yang gave a grim smile as she slammed her fist together. "Sounds good to me. We owe them one."

"Blake, get ready to harass them from the side and the back if you can. Yang, hit them hard from the front. I'll pour fire on them from a distance and cover Weiss. Weiss?" She glanced at the white-haired girl. "Do you think you can summon Ludwig?" Weiss blinked, staring at her in stunned silence. Then she nodded. "Do it. They didn't hold back on us, show them the same favor. Focus on Emerald if you can, her illusions will be the trickiest. If we can get her, go after Mercury next. It'll take all of us together to take down Hazel, so save him for last."

All three of her teammates nodded. Blake dashed forward and took cover behind a dislodged piece of masonry, sliding behind it and peeking out. Yang hung back, her gauntlets at the ready. Ruby anchored Crescent Rose into the ground, taking up a position in front of Weiss as Glyphs appeared beneath her and began to spin. The sound of gunfire grew louder, and with them came a few panicked shouts. "What the hell does she even want with us?" There were a few more gunshots. Emerald, looking panicked and disheveled, leaped out of the hole that Ludwig had made, staggering as she landed.

Yang fired both of her gauntlets, rocketing forward. Emerald recovered, lifting up her head just in time to see Yang. Letting out a cry of surprise, she took a step back and brought up both of her revolvers, only for a flash of black to batter her from the side. She took a quick swipe at Blake, only for the Faunus to fade away as the blade of Emerald's pistol struck her, the real Blake reappearing much father back.

Her lapse in concentration proved to be something she paid dearly for. While her attention was still on Blake, Yang closed the distance between her and Emerald, burying her fist in Emerald's gut, Ember Celica roaring to life as she did. The green-haired woman doubled over, her mouth wide in a noiseless gasp. Yang proceeded to lay into her, alternating between fists as she laid into Emerald, pummeling the older woman as hard as she could. Emerald was blasted against a wall, Yang following up with a right cross to the face before Emerald managed to recover long enough to duck underneath one of Yang's punches and slide to the side. She spun around just in time to see Blake making another pass, parrying her blow just in time for black to speed off and Yang to begin firing at Emerald from a distance.

"Really!?" Mercury appeared in the opening, kicking and sending a shot flying towards Weiss. Ruby uprooted her scythe to bat it away before bringing it back down again to return fire, Mercury barely dodging to the side in time. "We don't have time to play with you right now, kids! We've got bigger problems!" Ruby didn't listen. Something ugly stirred within her. He had been there when Penny died. He had had a hand in it. He had been smiling when it happened. White-hot anger burned through Ruby. Why were Penny and Pyrrha both gone while he was still breathing? Her jaw clenched and her trigger finger did not rest, sending round after round Mercury's way.

Alternating between dodging and blocking the bullets, occasionally taking one to the gut, Mercury advanced, it being unclear if he was trying to approach Ruby or get away from the opening. At first, Ruby paid no heed to the opening, her attention staying on Mercury. That is until a fountain of blood erupted from the opening. Hazel's massive frame emerged from it, just barely avoiding the gush of red fluid. Whatever it was, it drew everyone's attention. Ruby ceased her firing, Mercury stopped to look back, even Blake, Yang, and Emerald all came to a stop, their attention back on the hole in the wall. Hazel turned to face it, his fists rage and teeth bared.

A woman stepped out. She was wearing an odd outfit, comparable to what Atla wore with noticeable differences. There were considerable touches that made the woman appear more formal and upper class than Atla's more practical outfit had been. A cravat covered her collar, gold lines were running up and down the hem of her coat, and a white feather was sticking out of her tricorn hat. All of this contrasted harshly with the omnipresent bloodstains across all of her outfit, as well as the pair of swords she was holding. Each one was well past the length of a typical longsword, was viciously sharp, and was disturbingly the exact same shade of red as her stained clothes.

The woman stopped, looking them all over. Her face was so pale it was almost pure white, her light blonde hair barely any darker. It almost looked as if it was made out of porcelain. She sighed. "So many of you, letting your curiosity run amuck. Very well. An honest death. For all of you. A far kinder fate than what lies in the hamlet." Ruby blinked in confusion. She had barely had time to gauge the presence of the new woman, but initially, she had hoped that she would be like Atla. A protector, if a stern one. But this woman wanted to grant them all an "honest death?" Ruby didn't understand. Ruby didn't understand a thing.

The implication that the late Cinder's allies had been running from this woman gave Ruby a brief moment of hope that she had misunderstood, that Team RWBY had not been the intended targets of that proclamation. It was a hope that was quickly snuffed out as the woman swung both of her blades. Despite being far too far away to hit anyone, a surge of blood erupted from the end of the blades in a whip-like gush, catching Yang right in the face. Hazel charged at her, his arms outstretched, screaming as he went, doubtless hoping to catch her off guard. The woman's eyes adjusted to face her attacker and, just before he reached her, she vanished with the same ripple that Atla had disappeared with. Like Atla, she appeared a few feet away, darting forward and slicing into Hazel's back with both of her swords before vanishing again. As she did, she barely avoided Hazel twisting around, throwing a hefty elbow as he did.

Feeling as if the bottom had just dropped out of her stomach, Ruby attempted to line up a shot with their latest attacker. It was nearly impossible to get a solid bead on her. Ruby was starting to suspect that, whatever this ability she shared with Atla was, she was much more proficient with it. She was disappearing and reappearing with far more frequency than Atla ever had, leaving Hazel to blindly swing in a desperate attempt to catch her. More often than not though, he ended up punching head-sized holes in the ground and walls instead of catching her, leaving her free to slip in more slashes with her bizarre swords. Then Ruby heard footsteps. With a pang, Ruby realized her mistake.

Ruby unrooted Crescent Rose and swung it, but Mercury beat her to it. His kick caught her directly in the temple, sending her sprawling back. "RUBY!" Ruby could barely register Weiss's cry. Panic flooded through her. Weiss was still working on her summon, she was vulnerable now. But, in a mixed blessing, Mercury wasn't interested in Weiss. All of his attention was focused on the girl he had just knocked to the ground.

"Like I said, we got more important things right now," Mercury said, raising his leg high and bringing it crashing down onto her chest. She attempted to block it with her scythe, but Mercury effortlessly arced around it. The leg slammed into her, forcing her mouth wide open in a silent cry of pain. But that wasn't all. There was the sound of something shattering and a red glow sputtered and faded around Ruby. Her breath caught. Her Aura was broken. "Bye," Mercury said, raising his leg above his head before bringing an ax kick down, directly at Ruby's head.

For a horrible second, Ruby was frozen, her heart hammering in her chest. Then, a gunshot rang out. A streak of silver flashed in front of Ruby before embedding itself in Mercury's chest. He was able to maintain his position, but he aborted his kick, hastily planting his foot on the ground to maintain his balance. His entire body tensed as he looked at something Ruby couldn't see. Just when Ruby had regained enough of her nerve to wonder what was going on, a massive two-handed sword arched over her, carving into Mercury's side and forcing him back. Ruby blinked. She recognized that sword, it was covered with very recognizable silver markings. But it was impossible. And yet her eyes were not lying to her. And then she saw the woman herself. There was no mistaking those unnaturally blue eyes for anyone else's.

Atla let out a roar of anger and frustration as she fell upon Mercury, swinging her greatsword with a vigor that rivaled Ludwig's. Mercury snarled in disgust as he backed away sending a departing kick as he did. It collided with Atla's chin and a sickening crunch echoed. Atla's jaw was still hidden by the cloth she wore, but something about it looked horrifically wrong. It didn't seem to be properly lined up anymore, and there was a noticeable lump jutting out to the left. If it bothered her, however, she did not show it. Her assault continued without relent.

Mercury, caught off guard, was firmly on the defensive. Nearly every blade stroke was met with his legs rising to meet it, metal clanging on metal as Atla's sword was turned away from vital organs. Here and there, one strike managed to slip past his guard and find its mark, earning a grunt of pain from Mercury, but his Aura had yet to collapse. "What is this?" Atla hissed, contempt dripping from her voice. "Arcane? Very well."

Without warning, Atla halted her assault. Mercury, still maintaining his backward momentum, blinked in confusion. Despite that, his inaction was short-lived. Almost at once, he swung his legs through the air, at some points doing so with such force and speed that he had to support himself on his hands, sending white bullets streaking towards Atla. Five of them found their mark, blowing holes in Atla's chest and exiting out the far side. Atla staggered, blood leaking out of her fresh wounds, but she remained standing. Snarling, she clenched both of her hands into fists and pressed them together over her head. A strange, pale blue glow emerged from her fists, one that grew and took on the shape of, and Ruby had to blink to ensure she wasn't imagining this, the cosmos. Tiny stars against the backdrop of the galaxy. And of the countless stars she saw, around two dozen were glowing far more brightly.

Atla thrust her fists forward. Most of the image faded, but the stars that had burned with more light remained. Every last one of them shot forward, aiming straight for Mercury. One or two missed, but the rest drilled into him with the force and rapidity of automatic weapon fire, every shot exploding on impact. Mercury's Aura shattered like brittle glass underneath the assault. He was forced back, with such force that his mechanical legs were shooting sparks as they attempted to anchor him to the rocky ground. When the assault finally died down, Mercury was still standing, but only just barely.

He was panting heavily, his arms shaking, glaring at Atla. "Who the hell are you?" he rasped out.

"A Hunter of filth," Atla growled back. Ruby slowly got to her feet, gauging the situation carefully. Mercury wasn't hurt, but his Aura had been completely depleted by that assault. She had no idea how much of it had been left, but judging by his expression of anger and shock, it had been enough that its sudden destruction had surprised him. He looked jumpy, fidgety. He was facing someone who was proving to be tougher than he had expected.

Atla, however, was panting heavily too. The bullet wounds in her chest were still bleeding, although the flow had somewhat stemmed. Indeed, Ruby could see them steadily closing right before their eyes. Atla had no Aura, but apparently, she had some sort of healing factor, Ruby had to conclude. Just to further illustrate her point, there was a snap and the lump in Atla's jaw vanished as it realigned itself. Mercury noticed and his eyes narrowed. He tensed, his knees bending. No doubt he knew he had to attack before Atla's injuries had fully healed. Ruby anchored Crescent Rose into the ground, reloading it. Mercury's eyes swiveled onto her as he raised his legs for another kick. Her heart pounding, Ruby cocked Crescent Rose and took aim. Atla heaved her sword.

It all came to a crashing stop with the sound of thundering hooves. Mercury turned to face the sudden noise just in time for a two-handed sword the size of Atla's to split his side apart. A massive horse, larger than any Ruby had ever seen, tore past Mercury as he fell to the ground, roaring in agony. Atop the horse was a handsome man, clean-shaven and long-haired, Ludwig's glowing sword in one hand, a long, thin rifle in the other. Elegant robes covered the man, both he and the horse growing with pure, white light.

"What the-" Mercury began, but they were the last words he ever uttered. Atla had not been idle during the rider's charge. Raising her sword high, she drove it straight down. Mercury's mouth opened wide, but no sound came out as blood gushed out of his stomach, where the sword had embedded itself. Over and over again, Atla withdrew her sword and drove it back in. Mercury's stomach was a torn mess, innards flopping out as blood pooled on the ground. The man himself had gone quite limp, his face stretched in utter horror before it slackened. A mad glint was on Atla's eyes as she continued to rip him apart. Ruby couldn't move. She hated Mercury, hated him for everything he had done, but even then she couldn't take any pleasure in this butchery. It felt wrong.

Eventually, Atla came to a stop, pulling her sword out of Mercury's corpse. As she did, she slathered one of her hands in his blood and rubbing it into her wounds. To Ruby's shock, the already closing wounds began to close much faster, sealing themselves up right before her eyes. Mercury had gone quite pale, his head lolling to the side and his eyes half-open. There was no chance of him still being alive.

Still breathing heavily, Atla glanced at Ruby. "Are they the ones who attacked you?" she asked bluntly. Dumbly, Ruby nodded. "All right," she said simply. She turned, facing in the direction where Emerald, Hazel, and the pale woman were still fighting with Blake and Yang. Then she hesitated. "Ludwig?" she said, looking in surprise at the man on the horse. He smiled, pressing his sword to his chest and giving a small bow. Ruby blinked. That was Ludwig? She looked at Weiss. She had just gotten to her feet from performing the summoning, and she looked just as confused as Ruby was on the situation.

"But how can...Doll?" Atla was staring at the pale woman now. She was alternating between swinging her bloodstained blades at both Hazel and Yang, the streaming whips they created proving to be highly effective. After a few attempts of trying to get in close only to be beaten back every time, Yang had resorted to keeping her distance and raining down fire on the woman. The pale woman was dodging them with very impressive footwork, occasionally disappearing and reappearing, but she wasn't flawless. There were times when she wasn't fast enough, or Yang had simply sent too much her way, and she would be hit. When this happened, she would grit her teeth in pain as her coat was burned and blood leaked out of it. Unlike Atla, she showed no signs of healing. Also unlike Atla, her injuries did not appear to be slowing her down.

Hazel, now with Lightning Dust protruding out of his bare biceps, was roaring as he viciously swung at the woman. Ruby couldn't help but notice that while Yang was focusing most of her fire on the woman, a handful would instead find their way towards the back of Hazel's head. The pale woman was balancing avoiding the assaults from both sides when one of Yang's blasts caused her to stumble. Hazel clasped his hands together and brought them both smashing down into the small of the woman's back. She let out a gasp as she slammed face down into the ground, Hazel moving to follow up with a stomp. Once again though, she disappeared and reappeared a few feet back, standing tall.

Atla blinked as her eyes locked onto the woman. Said eyes were filled with shock, amazement and unless Ruby was seeing things, a little bit of longing. But then the woman swung her sword and a whip of blood caught Yang across the face, sending her back. Atla blinked. Her eyes hardened. "The big one first," she said. "You can control Ludwig?" Atla asked Weiss. Weiss nodded hesitantly. "Send him in then."

Siding her sheath onto her back, there was a clang and she pulled the long sword. With her free hand, she drew and reloaded her pistol. She threw herself into the fray, dashing at Hazel and slashing at his back. Weiss flicked her sword and the summon of Ludwig followed at once, the rider doing nothing to prompt the horse.

Turning about, roaring all the way, Hazel threw a punch at Atla that she barely ducked. Ruby took a few quick shots at Hazel. It wouldn't do much, she remembered just how monstrously durable the man's Aura was, but it would chip away at him. Wearing him down would be the only way they could beat him. He whipped around, but he could barely get a good look at her before Atla stabbed into his back.

Roaring, his tree trunk-like arm swung up and his fist clamps down around Atla's sword, holding her in place. "I don't want to fight you," Hazel growled, looking down at Atla.

"And?" she responded dismissively. "Your point?" Her muscles tensed, trying to rip her sword free from Hazel's grasp.

"I'm not the one who started this fight," Hazel. "If you want to be angry, be angry at Ozpin, the blood of these children is on his hands!" His face was now inches away from Atla, the Hunter's eyes flickering from sprayed spittle. "He's the one who sent them to-"

"Oh do be quiet," Atla said. Raising her pistol, she fired a point-blank shot into Hazel's face. He barely flinched, but it was enough for Atla to slip her sword out of his grasp. She retreated backward, just in time for Ludwig to ride in, swinging at Hazel's face. He took the full brunt of the green turned snow-white blade head-on. Reeling back, he grabbed at Ludwig, only to find that the Hunter had already galloped away. Rage was etched into every corner of his face, more so than usual. Ruby was certain that he wasn't used to struggling this much in a fight.

The pale woman, who had been raining down blows onto a desperately dodging Yang, took note of Hazel's distraction and brought another pair of blood whips down onto him. Bellowing in anger, he lunged at her, his hand grasping for her throat. He moved just a little bit faster than she had been prepared for. She gave a soft gasp as Hazel's hand closed around her throat, bright electricity arcing onto her and down through the rest of her body, and slammed her into a wall. Hazel roared in a manner that reminded Ruby more of Ludwig's primal one than any voice a human-made as he began to drive his fist into the woman's stomach.

Cracks spiderwebbed through the wall behind her and the sound of cracking bones accompanied every blow. The woman's hands lowered, barely holding onto her swords. Ruby hesitated. She felt a pang is sympathy for the woman but had not forgotten how she had attacked her sister. Attacking Hazel now could break his focus and let the woman escape; it would be smarter to let the two of them wear each other out and deal with the survivor. Atla seemed to have come to the same conclusion and had held her position, looking at Hazel with an analytical eye.

A chain flew through the air, a blade on the end burying itself in her shoulder. Atla tensed up as she grabbed at the chain, blood trickling through her fingers, which promptly went taught. She was unceremoniously pulled forward, her pistol falling out of her hand and just barely hanging onto her sword. Emerald was pulling firmly on one of her pistols, having thrown the chained sickle portion to embed it in Atla. Blake, who had been fighting Emerald up until this point, advanced with the Blades of Mercy, prompting an immediate response from Emerald. She swung her other pistol-sickle in a wide arc, nearly catching Blake in the side and forcing her back.

Ruby prompting turned her scope on Emerald and opened fire, catching the green-haired woman in the stomach. With a snarl, Emerald flicked her wrist and transformed her free gun back into a pistol. She opened fire with both, riddling Atla's stomach with one and aiming at Ruby with the other. Remembering with a jolt that her Aura had been broken, Ruby hastily heaved Crescent Rose and spun it, just barely deflecting the bullets Emerald was sending her way. Atla had no such defense, and her freshly healed body was once again ripped open in the chest, half a dozen fresh wounds sprouting into existence, gushing blood.

The small part of Atla's face that was visible contorted in pain. Struggling to keep a firm grip on her sword, Atla seized the chain with both hands and began to pull. Emerald was jerked forward, closer to Atla, stumbling as the Hunter continued to pull, loose chains now pooling around her feet. With a surge of hope, Ruby realized that Emerald would have to either release her weapon or be pulled into melee range with Atla.

That hope was shattered as Emerald's eyes narrowed, focusing on Atla. Ruby recognized this. "Atla!" she cried out, still deflecting bullets. "Emerald can make illusions! Don't let her trick you!" But it was too late. Atla's eyes had gone fuzzy and a small smile spread across Emerald's face.

But then it faltered. Emerald blinked, looking as if she had just realized something important. Then she screamed. It was a scream of such raw fear and anguish that, for the briefest of moments, Ruby forgot everything Emerald had done, the people she had helped kill. Ruby hated Emerald, there was no other word for it, but she didn't want anyone to scream like that. Stop them? Yes. Kill them? If she had to. But she couldn't bring herself to enjoy suffering.

Emerald dropped both of her pistols, Atla almost losing her balance as she pulled on a chain that posed no resistance, and continued to scream. "They're inside my skull! THEY'RE INSIDE MY SKULL!" Emerald shrieked, clawing at her face. Her nails dug into her skin and left deep gashes as she frantically mutilated her own face. With each pass, her nails moved closer and closer to her eyes. "Get them out! GET THEM OUT! PLEASE!" Tears were leaking out of her eyes now as her voice reached a hysterical level.

"How sweetly do the whispers sing to you?" Atla asked in a strange tone. Emerald collapsed, screaming so hard it sounded like she would tear her throat. Blinking through her tears, Emerald composed herself just enough to look up at Atla. Her eyes narrowed in fury. Grabbing the bladed end of the pistol that wasn't currently lodged in Atla's shoulder, she threw it. It arced through the air and began to veer to the side. Atla was completely caught off guard. It embedded itself in the side of her face, piercing through the cheek with enough force that the tip poked through the other side. Atla let out a wet choking noise as she frantically grabbed at the sickle, ripping off the cloth covering her face in a desperate attempt to get it off. Ruby wished, in an admittedly selfish way, that she had kept it on. With the cloth gone, Ruby was treated to an unobstructed view of how Emerald's sickle had threaded Atla's jaw, ripping through both cheeks. She could see the blade as Atla opened her mouth, blood pouring out until she gave a hard tug and ripped it out. It caused almost as much damage out on the way in, ripping off a good portion of the cheek it had entered through and exposing jawline and tendons. Mercifully, the wounds began to close the moment the blade was removed, Atla moving on to pull out the blade that had been lodged in her shoulder.

Emerald didn't appear to have any strength left in her after that last throw. She fumbled for her pistols, but her grip was weak and flaccid. Her weapons slipped through her hands as she attempted to hold them. Then another pang of screams overtook her and her hands flew back to her face, starting to scratch at them again. She only made one or two passes before Blake jumped onto her back, pinning her to the ground and her hands against her throat. Uncurling Gambol Shroud's cable, she firmly wrapped it around Emerald's hands, as well as her throat. After she had gone through the cable's entire length, she tied it off on a firm knot that was so tight it cut into Emerald's skin, the green-haired woman not preventing the damage with her Aura. She simply continued to scream, her fingers desperately trying to claw at her eyes but coming just short.

Atla let out a soft gasp as she pulled the second sickle from her body. Pulling a syringe filled with red liquid, one that looked suspiciously similar to the blood that now coated the area, she injected it into her leg. The healing process that was actively playing out all over Atla's body tripled in speed. The bullet wounds and slashes on her face closed in a matter of seconds, leaving no evidence they had ever been there. She spared a glance at Blake, who was getting to her feet. She frowned. "I doubt she'd show the same mercy to you," she said, her tone neutral.

"I'm not her," Blake said, glaring at Atla. "She can't fight anymore, she lost."

Atla let out an annoyed grunt before picking up her pistol, reloading it, and turning towards Hazel. The giant of a man seemed to have forgotten that anyone else was there. None of Team RWBY had seen it fit to interrupt him. Yang was facing him with her gauntlets at the ready while Ludwig has his horse pointed in the same direction, Weiss right behind him with her rapier raised. But none of them were acting, content to let mutual foes handle each other.

He was still holding the pale woman against the wall, driving his fist into her. Bones were no longer shattering with each blow, there were only unpleasant squelches now. Her bones had been reduced to powder, Ruby was sure of it.

Yet she didn't seem to be in any pain. Her eyes, almost stonelike, simply stared at Hazel's. And then Ruby saw it. Blood. Not trickling out of the woman's broken body, but into it. All over the dirty corner of this city they had turned into a battlefield, blood was bubbling across the ground towards the woman, flowing into her wounds. Hazel roared, pulling back his fist for a punch aimed directly at her face.

Suddenly, without any rhyme or reason, an explosion of blood bloomed into life. Hazel was thrown back, his Aura flickering feebly, barely intact as he landed on his back. The pale woman's injuries had vanished. The blood, which had exploded outward like shrapnel more than a liquid, appeared to have fully healed. She was floating off of the ground, her arms at her sides, staring at Hazel. And, to make matters even worse, her long red swords were now ablaze.

Ruby stared at the woman in disbelief. Everything about this place felt wrong. The abomination that had been Ludwig, Atla's ability to regenerate, the stars she had used as weapons, how Atla and the woman could both vanish, Atla's unexplained survival, and this woman's uncanny connection to blood. None of it felt like Aura or even the magic that Maidens and Ozpin were capable of. It felt wrong as if it shouldn't be.

The woman drifted back to the ground, her boots clacking as they made contact with hard rock. Taking both of her swords, she pressed their hilts together. With a click, they snapped together. A red glow began to appear around the woman, radiating with the density of a heavy fog. Getting to his feet, Hazel snarled at the woman before breaking into a charge. He got halfway towards her before she thrust her combined weapon forward.

A spike of blood and fire erupted out of the joined weapon, forcing Hazel's mouth wide open and bringing his charge to a sudden stop, reeling as he did. The woman showed no mercy or hesitation. Bending her knees, she leaped up into the air, swinging her double-edged sword and binging a pair of flamming whips down onto Hazel. Having not recovered from the first, he was easy prey as the whips pure into him. There was a shattering noise. A light brown Aura flickered and died around the man. The pale woman noticed and her eyes narrowed. She adjusted herself and came to a sudden stop in front of the giant of a man as he was still trying to recover.

Ruby knew that Hazel was doomed, that with his Aura down there was no way he could survive whatever the woman was planning to do. It still did nothing to help her prepare for what she saw. Much like Atla had done to Lugwig, the woman's free hand dove forward towards Hazel's side. There was no resistance at all, and Hazel let out a gasp as she came to a stop, wrist deep in his insides. Hazel let out a soft gasp as he looked forward without seeing. His body was starting to seize up. The fight was over, the woman had claimed Hazel's life.

To Ruby's shock, the woman wrapped her other arm around Hazel in a hug, pulling him close. He blinked, his hands slackening at his sides, looking down at her in confusion. Then she pulled back, ripping her other hand free. There was a stream of crimson as it was ripped from his body, splattering over the ground, with the woman now holding a bloody mass that Ruby couldn't recognize. She tossed it aside as if it was nothing more than trash. Hazel stumbled, looking at the woman with a disoriented expression before he tumbled over to the side.

The woman stepped over Hazel, looking as if she had lost all interest in him, sizing up everyone who was left. Team RWBY had taken advantage of the lull in the attention on them to top off their weapons, which they were now aiming at her. Yang's teeth were firmly grit as she held up her fists in front of her, Weiss was spinning the revolver in her sword as Ludwig moved protectively in front of her, while Blake was maintaining position over a still screaming Emerald. Ruby herself had her scope lined up on the woman. Between the four of them, plus Atla, they had the full 180 degrees in front of her covered.

Atla stepped ahead of Team Ruby, her sword and pistol in hand. Her face was still uncovered. Ruby couldn't pretend to know Atla, she hadn't even known her an hour, but even she could tell Atla was acting odd. She was looking at the woman with disdain, but also a tiny bit of regret. "May I ask your name?" Atla asked hesitantly.

"Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower," the woman said. "Good Hunter." Atla's breath caught. "Have respect for the beast-hunter Gehrman's wishes. You will find no reward here, no enemies. You and your young followers, I will set you all free from the Nightmare's tantalizing grip."

"Yeah, thanks but no thanks," Yang said, baring her teeth at Lady Maria.

The older woman spared her a pitying look. "They are enviable, aren't they, Good Hunter? They do not understand the fate of our city. The whispers do not call to them yet." Her attention turned back to Atla. "Not the way they do to me. And I can see it in your eyes. Your touched eyes. You must hear them calling stronger than anyone. Do not resist. Let me spare them the torment and free you from yours. Return to the waking world." Atla didn't respond. Her grip on her sword merely tightened. Maria looked disappointed. "As you wish."

In a flash, she swung her swords. A horizontal splash of burning blood carved into Atla's torso, causing her to seize up. Her teeth biting down so hard that a drop of blood leaked out between them, she bounded forward, driving her longsword into Maria's shoulder. Blood gushed out of both of their wounds as they moved back, ready to strike again. A fair bit of the aforementioned blood splashed onto the open wound Maria had just opened, and in a blink, it closed. Maria's did not.

"Checkmate!" Ruby called out. She had no idea what Lady Maria was talking about. Touched eyes, whispers, the waking world, it was all nonsense to her ears. She only knew that Lady Maria wanted to kill her, her team, and the woman who had saved her. That wasn't going to happen. Her scope had been lined up on the woman for the last minute, and the second that she had struck Atla, Ruby had opened fire. Five shots drilled into Lady Maria, one after the other, but they were about as effective as they had been against Ludwig. They broke the skin, they did damage, but it was shallow. If anything they seemed to stagger the bloodstained Lady Maria more than anything.

Fortunately, staggering her was all Ruby had needed. Ludwig galloped forth, his sword held high, driving it into Lady Maria as he passed. Blood spilled from her as it bit into her shoulder, there seemed to be no end to the liquid that flowed in her veins, prompting a counter-attack from her. Combining her swords again, the red glow appeared once more, followed by the familiar geyser of blood and fire. Ludwig was torn apart, even as his horse attempted to carry him to safety. Unlike most of Weiss's summons, Ruby couldn't even see this one splinter away, the volume of the spike simply swallowed it all up.

Lady Maria did not have a second of respite, however. No sooner had Ludwig's spectral form vanished than Blake descended on her from behind, the Blades of Mercy in hand. A dozen quick, light stabs followed, blood staining the back of Lady Maria's dark coat. She spun about, separating her swords and swinging viciously. Two more whips sprung to life and ripped Blake apart. Or rather, they ripped apart the shadow that Blake had left behind. Lady Maria barely had time to pull her swords back before Blake reappeared and struck again, this time cutting at her sides.

Lady Maria chose to retreat at this point, vanishing and reappearing a few steps back, barely avoiding another flurry of blows. She planted one foot behind her and combined her swords. The red glow flared into life as she focused on Blake. The woman took a step forward, only for a ball of blonde color to smash into her, sending her sprawling to the ground. Somehow, her swords were still firmly in hand.

Yang was on top of the older woman. Her eyes were crimson red and her hair alive with fire. Her firsts came down like a hammer, driving into Lady Maria's face with an unrestrained fury that Ruby had only ever witnessed a handful of times in her sister. For five full seconds, Lady Maria was helpless before Yang's wraith. Her face became a river of blood, dripping onto the sides and staining Yang's gauntlets. But for whatever reason, the woman's face did not become disfigured.

However, it was not to last forever. With a flick and a twirl, she sent the still combined blade upward, driving toward Yang's heart. Her Aura took the blow, but that was the last of it. Bright yellow flashed into existence and then faded with the sound of glass being shattered. The impact forced Yang off of Lady Maria, who bounded forward for the finishing strike. Realizing she was in danger, her anger giving way to panic, fired both of her gauntlets in an attempt to throw herself backward. The swords separated and one pierced Yang's leg, throwing off her escape attempt and causing her to crash to the ground. With a graceful twirl, Lady Maria withdrew the one she had stabbed Yang with, bringing the other one down on her throat.

She was halfway there when Blake's arms hooked underneath Yang's armpits, pulling hard. The blow came down but neither of them were there anymore. Taking one hand off, Blake desperately threw one of the Blades of Mercy at Lady Maria, who deflected it with ease. Her eyes narrowed and she bent her knees to pursue, only for a gunshot to ring out. Unlike Ruby's bullets, this one tore fully through her, leaving a bullet hole in her stomach. The blood that oozed out almost felt normal at this point.

With trained precision, Lady Maria turned to intercept Atla. The Hunter had switched back to her two-handed sword and had brought it down. Silver met red as Lady Maria crossed her swords, sparks flashing as they met. "Leave him be," Lady Maria growled. "The infant grown old."

"Another one then," Atla hissed, hatred ruling her expressions. "Is it another of Odeon's? Who was the victim this time? Who did they violate to bring another of their blasted spawn into existence?" For the first time, an expression crossed Maria's face. A look of sadness.

"Gehrman."

Atla deflated, like a marionette having its strings cut. "What?" she said in disbelief. "No. No. Not him. Please. No."

"I share your disgust," Maria said, not unkindly. "Do you understand now? The horrors I wish to spare you from?." One of her swords slipped out from under the greatsword and drove it into Atla's gut. The woman roared in pain as it erupted out of her back, her blood undisguisable from the red steel of the blade. "Please. Find your worth in the waking world." Ruby acted. She had seen enough. Enough suffering, enough death, enough of her friends looking at their end in the eye and being unable to stop it. She didn't know what came over her, she only knew that she was not going to watch Atla die again.

Her Semblance enveloped her, carrying her forward. Crescent Rose was outstretched, the blade facing inward. Through the red and the petals, Ruby could tell that Lady Maria had spotted her. Her eyes narrowed and she pulled on her swords, looking to withdraw. Atla, still in pain, pressed her finger against her temple. A spark of pale blue shot out, striking Lady Maria in the face. She stumbled. She was not getting out of the way in time. Crescent Rose bit into flesh. Lady Maria's head landed cheek first on the rock below. The rest of her body fell a few seconds later.

Ruby came to a halt. Her breathing was shallow and quick. It wasn't the first time she had killed, at least she was fairly certain it wasn't the first time she had killed. She and her team had fought the White Fang twice, and odds are Crescent Rose had ripped the life out of more than a few terrorists. But she had never seen the result of her weapon's work this close up. Her body clenched up. She wished she was anywhere else right now, but she forced herself to turn around. She saw the horrific remains of Lady Maria, blood spurting weakly from the bare stump of her neck. Her eyes slowly closed. It looked like she was sleeping. Then, without warning, her body began to fade away, much like Atla's had. Before too long, she was gone.

Atla knelt on her sword, panting heavily. With one hand, she produced a small bell from her belt. Holding it up over her head, she rang it. As the bell chimed, a warmth spread over Ruby. She didn't realize how tired she had felt until the warmth washed it all away. Atla's wounds closed at the same time, and even Yang's wound knitted itself. Letting out a noise of relief, she got up, her eyes focusing on Ruby.

Atla approached Ruby, looking irritated. "I told you to run," she said. "Ludwig was even more dangerous than I thought he was. It was a miracle that you were able to defeat him, and even then, if I hadn't-" but Ruby couldn't handle it anymore. She didn't care that Atla was upset with her, she didn't care that the woman's coat was stained with blood. She threw herself at Atla, wrapping her arms around her, burying her face in the Hunter's coat.

Atla's voice died. For a second, Ruby could feel her flinch. When it became clear that she wasn't attacking her, she spoke again. "I...you...is she all right?" Ruby could tell that Atla was looking at her team. As the seconds ticked by and Ruby didn't let go, Atla hesitantly began to pat Ruby on the head. She did it with a clumsiness that suggested she wasn't quite sure what she was doing.

Ruby took a deep, shuddering breath. "I thought you were dead," she said, her throat tight. "We saw you die."

"I...I did die," Atla said. "I've died countless times. The Hunter's Dream doesn't let me stay dead." She settled into an awkward rubbing motion on Ruby's head that was meant to be comforting but ended up hurting a little bit. Ruby ignored it. "I can't truly die, not as long as I am Hunter of the Dream. It's why I wanted you to run." Ruby's heart skipped a beat. Atla was just like Ozpin. If anything, she bounced back from death even faster than he did. She pulled her face away from Atla's coat, looking around at her team. She could see it in their eyes, they had all drawn the same conclusion as her.

"But it seems you are all truly capable," Atla said. She gave an awkward nudge, trying to move away from Ruby. Now that she thought about it, Ruby could feel that Atla was very tense. The hug was making her uncomfortable. Ruby felt a bit hurt at this, but let go nonetheless. "Now then. We need to get you all out of here. As I said before, I don't know where you came from but I can get you to a safe place. I-" she broke off. She had been looking around at Team RWBY and had stopped at Blake. Specifically at her eyes. Ruby felt a pang of dread. Please, not that. After everything they had dealt with today, please not that.

Atla looked warily at Blake's ears. Blake noticed and visibly steeled herself. "I'm sorry," she said solemnly. "How advanced is your condition?"

Blake blinked. "What?" she asked in confusion. The dread Ruby had felt vanished, replaced by confusion. What? Condition?

"You have the plague, don't you? The Beast Plague." She pointed at the remains of Ludwig. "It transforms men into beasts. Ludwig was the First Hunter of the Healing Church. The apparition, or whatever it was you created, that's who he was. The plague transformed him into that monster, little more than a wild animal. Robbed of your minds." She tilted her head. "You must be at a very early stage. Your mind seems sound. Even the recently infected can't control their baser instincts."

"She's not sick," Weiss said. "She's a Faunus. She was born with those. All Faunus have an animal part of some kind."

Now it was Atla's turn to blink in confusion. "Faunus?" She took in Blake's ears again. "Since you were young? That's unprecedented." She frowned. "You're certain you haven't experienced any symptoms? Increased aggression, growing fur or scales, elongated teeth, anything like that?"

Blake bared her utterly normal teeth to Atla. One could be forgiven for thinking that she was just assuring Atla, but her jaw was noticeably tight. She was getting frustrated with Atla. The Hunter noticed.

"My apologies," Atla said. "This is new to me. There are no, Faunus was it, in Yharnam or my hometown. Only the plague and...matters that you needn't know about. Follow me. I'll see if I can get you back to where you came from before I head back here."

"Wait, hold up," Yang said, stepping forward. "What do you mean matters we don't need to know about? Who was that lady? What's in there that you're looking for? Who's Gehrman? Who's Odeon? What do you mean we don't need to know that?"

Atla gave Yang a weary look. "That woman? I don't know. She resembles someone I know, but I don't know why. My theories are incomplete," she said hesitantly. "Gehrman is my mentor. You will meet him soon. The rest, however, I cannot tell you."

Yang's fingers twitched. "I'm sorry, what?" Ruby wanted to give a resigned groan. Not this again. "We saved your butt and you're not telling us squat? You still don't trust us?"

"Trust is not a factor," Atla said. Sheathing her weapons, she pointed to Emerald. The woman lay on the ground, still bound, now weeping softly. "You are treading on the border of something dangerous, something incomprehensible. Overwhelming. She looked into my mind and saw it. The whispers. The true nature of what lies beyond the corners of the dream. I do not mean to belittle your accomplishments as warriors but this is not a matter of the flesh, it is one of the mind. Many wise men and women attempted to approach this. Their skulls overflowed." Atla lowered her hand. "I want you to do something. Be quiet for a moment. Listen hard. All of you."

Yang was glaring hard at Atla but said nothing. None of them did. Ruby perked her ears hard, listening for anything. They came back. The same whispers that she had heard after they had fought Ludwig. Now that she heard them, she realized they had never stopped. They had always been there, whispering in the back of the mind. It was quite frustrating, she couldn't pin down what they were saying or where exactly the whispers were coming from. "You hear them, don't you? The whispers?" All of Team RWBY looked visibly uncomfortable now. The silence of Ruby's teammates spoke volumes. "I'll simply say this. This isn't your fight. Let me handle this. Please believe me, the whispers only grow. And when you understand them, the nature of what they say, it can break you." She wasn't making direct eye-contact anymore. "You all fought bravely. There is nothing to be gained by violating the sanctity of your minds. I will say no more, please do not question me further."

Yang's eyes flashed red for a second. She took a step forward, only for Blake's hand to slip around her mechanical one, squeezing tightly. Instantly, her expression softened as she looked back. Blake gave her a pleading look. The red in Yang's eyes faded as she forced herself to take a deep breath. Atla lifted her head up. "Your weapons are unlike any I have seen. I can tell you've traveled far, particularly if you are unfamiliar with the plague."

"We're from Remnant," Blake said, still squeezing Yang's hand. "Are you familiar with it?" Atla shook her head. "What is happening? How did this happen?" She was talking more to herself than anyone else.

"I do not know," Atla said. "But we have dallied long enough. Follow me. The beasts cannot reach us in the Hunter's Dream."

The others looked to Ruby. She nodded. "Lead the way. Yang, Blake? Grab Emerald. She might be able to tell us where Salem is." She swallowed. "Leave Mercury and Hazel." The two gave uncomfortable glances at the two dead men before moving towards the lone survivor. They were still holding hands.

"Ah. Romance. I see," Atla said. Ruby felt herself go a little red in the face.

"I mean, not exactly," she said. Atla gave her an exasperated look. Instead of saying anything, she simply pointed at their held hands. "I know, I know," Ruby said, holding up her hands defensively. "But they haven't talked about it yet. I think they're nervous."

Atla raised an eyebrow. "It sounds as if they're a little stupid then."

"I wouldn't put it like that," Ruby said sheepishly. How had they got onto this topic?

"They are a little," Weiss said as if she was admitting something she rather wouldn't.

Atla turned her attention onto Weiss. "What you did, with Ludwig. How did you do that? Return him to his human form? It was-" she paused, struggling for the right word. "Pure."

Weiss looked abashed. "It's a long story. If you tell me how you kept healing yourself, I'll tell you that." Atla nodded, looking curious. Blake and Yang returned, carrying Emerald between them. She was not resisting at all, tears still streaming down her face. "Ms. Atla? Please lead the way." Atla nodded, hand on her sword, as she marched away from the battleground. Team RWBY followed.

Ruby had no idea where they were, what they had just fought, or how they had ended up here. All that she knew was that they had managed to earn themselves a moment of respite. And that Salem wasn't the only horror lurking just out of sight.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Weiss Schnee deserves a break. She has an iffy W/L record that the fandom will never stop teasing her over and that extends beyond RWBY itself and into things like Death Battle. That and the patron who submitted the prompt for this story was interested in seeing a RWBY/Bloodborne idea I've been sitting on for awhile. See, I love Weiss's Semblance, particularly the crossover potential it has. And with a little creative tweaking on my side, I had an idea. A summon of Ludwig, not the Accursed, or the Holy Blade, but as he was all those years ago, when he was the first hunter of the Healing Church. A reborn version of him. Ludwig the Redeemed.

The original prompt on had Cinder instead of Hazel, but the patron who made the prompt talked with me over Discord and he decided he didn't want Cinder in the story on the basis that her Maiden powers would be "anti-horror." I can respect that. Probably for the best, if Fall Maiden Cinder showed up Atla would only be able to beat her with the help of all of Team RWBY (yes, I'm well aware that people didn't like me having Atla lose to Cinder way back when, but Bloodborne is more horror than power fantasy, something people tend to forget as you do technically kill gods. I just view it as more you kill gods after trying twenty times.)

Good god, this story got away from me. Longest one-shot I ever wrote. And if anyone is curious, this isn't connected to the other RWBYborne works I've done. Consider this a soft reboot of Atla.

I would like to thank my Patrons, SuperFeatherYoshi, xXNanamiXx, RaptorusMaximus, Davis Swinney, Mackenzie Buckle, Ryan Van Schaack, ChaosSpartan575, and LordofNaught for their amazing support.


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